Marie Caroline Miolan-Carvalho

Marie Caroline Miolan-Carvalho (31 December 1827 in Marseille – 10 July 1895 in Château-Puys, near Dieppe) was a famed French operatic soprano, particularly associated with light lyric and coloratura roles.

Biography Born Marie Caroline Félix-Miolan, she studied first with her father, François Félix-Miolan, an oboist, and later at the Conservatoire of Paris with Gilbert Duprez. After winning the first prize at the Conservatorie, she began touring throughout France, making her stage debut in Brest, as Isabelle in Robert le Diable, in 1849. Upon returning to Paris the following year, Marie Miolan made her debut in the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Grand Opera on December 14, 1849. She went on to sing in Le Pré aux clercs, Les Huguenots, Der Freischütz, Hamlet, etc.

From 1849 to 1855 and 1868 to 1885, Miolan-Carvalho sang in Paris at the Opéra-Comique as Caroline Carvalho. In 1853, she married Léon Carvalho, a French impresario and director of Théâtre Lyrique. Other works include Baucis in Philémon et Baucis (1860), the title role in Mireille (1864) and Juliette in Roméo et Juliette (1867), but also Louis Clapisson's La Fanchonnette, Victor Massé's Les noces de Jeanette, Ambroise Thomas's La cour de Célimène.

In 1859, Miolan-Carvalho made her first appearance at Royal Opera House in London in Giacomo Meyerbeer's Dinorah. She performed regularly there until 1864 and again in 1871-72 where she was Gilda, Mathilde, Marguerite de Valois, Marguerite and Countess Almaviva.